preceding
adjective
pre·ced·ing
pri-ˈsē-diŋ 
: existing, coming, or occurring immediately before in time or place
the preceding day
preceding paragraphs
Examples of preceding in a Sentence
The once refulgent reign of Queen Elizabeth had come to a stale and frustrated end in the preceding year, and a new monarch had been imported from Scotland …
—
Christopher Hitchens, New York Times Book Review, 18 May 2003
The building code, layered with attempts to correct the ignorance of preceding generations, is a set of rules for coping with some of the most unruly moods of the land: mudslides, wildfires, steep slopes, a dearth of water and a surfeit of seismic activity.
—Timothy Egan, New York Times, 20 Feb. 1994
I have had a fever of about three weeks during the last and preceding month, from which I am entirely recovered except as to strength.
—Thomas Jefferson, letter, 4 Sept. 1823
The preceding week he had been on vacation.
had not eaten since the preceding day
Christopher Hitchens, New York Times Book Review, 18 May 2003
The building code, layered with attempts to correct the ignorance of preceding generations, is a set of rules for coping with some of the most unruly moods of the land: mudslides, wildfires, steep slopes, a dearth of water and a surfeit of seismic activity.
—Timothy Egan, New York Times, 20 Feb. 1994
I have had a fever of about three weeks during the last and preceding month, from which I am entirely recovered except as to strength.
—Thomas Jefferson, letter, 4 Sept. 1823
The preceding week he had been on vacation.
had not eaten since the preceding day
Recent Examples on the Web
In the preceding month, Gamestop also closed its NFT marketplace, just months after removing support for its NFT wallet.
—Nicholas Kitonyi, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Most of those were seized on Oct. 7, 2023, but others were taken hostage in the preceding decade, and a substantial number are no longer alive.
—Jerome Socolovsky, NPR, 19 Jan. 2025
During the preceding month, the platform was profiting off political ads from at least three of the lawmakers who signed the letter: Goldman, Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).
—Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2023
The accolades, as well as the president's preceding remarks, came exactly two years after the riot, which saw a number of former President Donald Trump's supporters storm the U.S. Capitol in an effort the overturn the 2020 election.
—Brigid Kennedy, The Week, 6 Jan. 2023
Lincecum had sneaked by Madison Bumgarner to advance in the preceding round, garnering 51% of the votes.
—John Shea, SFChronicle.com, 5 Apr. 2020
Annual inflation has been just 1.8% on average, down from about 3.5% during the preceding 20 years and 4.5% in the two decades before that.
—The Economist, 13 Feb. 2020
But the train whirred, caught and deposited us at the preceding station.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2020
And/or the headings are continuations of the last sentence of the preceding section:
But first, before Franz got back,
THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG
came round.
—Ben Lerner, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2019
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Nicholas Kitonyi, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Most of those were seized on Oct. 7, 2023, but others were taken hostage in the preceding decade, and a substantial number are no longer alive.
—Jerome Socolovsky, NPR, 19 Jan. 2025
During the preceding month, the platform was profiting off political ads from at least three of the lawmakers who signed the letter: Goldman, Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).
—Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2023
The accolades, as well as the president's preceding remarks, came exactly two years after the riot, which saw a number of former President Donald Trump's supporters storm the U.S. Capitol in an effort the overturn the 2020 election.
—Brigid Kennedy, The Week, 6 Jan. 2023
Lincecum had sneaked by Madison Bumgarner to advance in the preceding round, garnering 51% of the votes.
—John Shea, SFChronicle.com, 5 Apr. 2020
Annual inflation has been just 1.8% on average, down from about 3.5% during the preceding 20 years and 4.5% in the two decades before that.
—The Economist, 13 Feb. 2020
But the train whirred, caught and deposited us at the preceding station.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2020
And/or the headings are continuations of the last sentence of the preceding section:
But first, before Franz got back,
THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG
came round.
—Ben Lerner, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Preceding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preceding. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
preceding
adjective
pre·ced·ing
pri-ˈsēd-iŋ
: going before : previous
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